CHALFONT ST. GILES, UK – 3 January, 2017 – GE Healthcare’s Life Sciences business announced today that it has acquired Rapidscan Pharma Solutions Inc., which has the exclusive rights to produce and sell the pharmacological stress agent Rapiscan® (regadenoson) in territories outside the USA, Canada and Mexico. GE Healthcare’s strong industry presence and existing customer and supply chain network will help bring improved access to Rapiscan, offering an alternative screening method for patients who are unable to undergo traditional cardiac stress imaging procedures.
Rapiscan® is a European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved selective coronary vasodilator, used as a pharmacological stress agent for radionuclide myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) in adult patients. It is used in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD), the most common type of cardiovascular disease, accounting for over 680,000 deaths in Europe alone[1] .
While MPIs are most commonly performed after a patient has exercised, some patients at risk of CAD cannot exercise due to various conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Rapiscan reduces the risks[2] of MPI tests for these patients by stimulating a patient’s heart to bring on the effects of exercise.
Emmanuel Ligner, General Manager of Core Imaging for GE Healthcare’s Life Sciences business, said: “Rapiscan is a perfect fit for our current cardiac imaging agent portfolio, as it enables access to a critical diagnostic test to a large, under-served population of patients at risk of coronary artery disease. As Rapiscan is a market leader in Germany and Austria[3] but largely unavailable in many other regions, we will use GE Healthcare’s industry scale to drive improved access to this diagnostic tool for patients worldwide.”
GE Healthcare already distributes Rapiscan in the UK and Germany and will maintain existing supplier and distributor networks created by Rapidscan Pharma Solutions to expand its global reach. Its commercial rights will complement Astellas’ commercial distribution of regadenoson in the US, Canada, and Mexico.
About Rapiscan® (regadenoson)
Rapiscan® is an EMA approved pharmaceutical stress agent used in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD). The agent simulates the effects of exercise in the hearts of adult patients unable to exercise during MPI procedures.
About Rapidscan Pharma Solutions
Rapidscan, which has been acquired by GE Healthcare, is single product pharmaceutical company formed in 2010 which has the commercial rights to sell the pharmacological stress agent, Rapiscan® (regadenoson) outside North America.
About GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services to meet the demand for increased access, enhanced quality and more affordable healthcare around the world. GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter – great people and technologies taking on tough challenges. From medical imaging, software & IT, patient monitoring and diagnostics to drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies and performance improvement solutions, GE Healthcare helps medical professionals deliver great healthcare to their patients. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com.
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[2] Cerqueira MD et al, on behalf of the ADVANCE MPI Trial Investigators. Effects of age, gender, obesity and diabetes on the efficacy and safety of the selective A2A agonist Rapiscan versus adenosine: integrated ADVANCE MPI trial results. J Am Coll Cardiol 2008; 1: 307-316.
[3] Rapidscan.Rapiscan: Information Memorandum. 2016; 4
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